Renovation Progress – Exterior

July 20, 2015

Last week was the CRAZIEST week of this reno yet. Framing of the addition started on Monday and was nearly finished and dried in by Friday. Seeing the progress each day was so exciting. While staying on top of everything on our end with it moving so quickly was busy, it was so rewarding to see so much quick progress! We worked with Travis Swayngham from Upstate SC and they do amazing work. If you’re in the area, they’re the ones to hire!

I am thrilled to share the progress with you guys! There is a ton to share and update you on, so today, we’ll focus on the exterior changes that have happened.

Here is a before of our little bungalow to remind you all where we started:

And here it is today:

This is a construction zone, for sure. We need a warning sign that says, “Walk through our yard at your own risk.”

But what progress!

Let’s start with the front porch area. The screened porch was removed, leaving the top gable. The brick foundation was extended. We extended the roof out over the new foundation. We removed the old front door and put in a new window, matching the one beside it in size. The large double window right off of the old porch was removed and the new front door framed out. We still need a new porch floor and ceiling, posts, and stairs, but it’s coming along. I can start to see how the exterior will look when finished and that is exciting, my friends!

Another thing we changed that might be hard to see with all of the debris is the front yard is now flat! With all of the extra dirt we accumulated in making room for the foundation, we graded out the yard, removing the severe slope. Now, we’ll have a retaining wall to the left in the image above.

UPDATE: I got a great question about the driveway. We’ll be moving the driveway from in front of the new master addition to the other side of the yard below the retaining wall. There will be a few stairs that go up the wall and a pathway that leads to the front porch and entry. In one respect, we hate for it to be on lower ground, but it will be wider, fit more cars, and not block the view of the house with cars.

And as you can see, the right addition is now added.

Before:

In-progress:

Before:

In-progress:

Here’s a little side-view of the new addition:

If you remember from the floor plan, the master bath is in the front and the master bedroom is in the center with the big double window. The roof pitch of those two rooms follows the existing house roof-line.

The room added off the back with the shed roof is the office/playroom. That was a last-minute addition and you can read about that add-on here. The lay of the land over here will change some with more grading once everything is complete.

Let’s take a look at the other side of the house. Before:

And currently:

That opening in the foundation you see there will be the double-doors to the basement.

Seeing how this basement turned out is major evidence of why having stairs and using it as living space just wouldn’t have worked. It turned out much smaller than planned based off of the lay of the land and the ceiling isn’t standard height. But it’ll be awesome storage and a shop for Chris.

And a view from the back of the house before:

And now:

There’s a full exterior tour!

Tomorrow, I’ll be taking you inside and showing you all of the newly framed-out spaces! It’s getting good, y’all.

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Haley, do you mean the shed in the back? If so, no we didn’t tear it down 🙂 We have some special plans for it! Great question on the driveway, I forgot to mention that! We’re moving the driveway from where it was in front of the new master addition to the other side of the lot. It’ll be right on the other side of the retaining wall and there will be a few stairs and a sidewalk that go up to the porch and entry. I hate it’s on lower ground like that, but it just made a lot more sense. It can be a lot wider there and it isn’t in front of the house so the house can be prettier and not be cluttered with cars like we have at our current house.

Lindsay, I am thrilled for you. I wish I could do some additions to my house. Could use the extra space. Don’t know why though, my children are grown and one is off on her own. Over the years, one accumulates too much. Now I need the extra space for storage!